GRAVE NEW WORLD

Autumn along the Fox River in idyllic Saint Charles is marked by quaint charm and families on riverside strolls.  However, tucked away in the heart of the town, a terrifying monster lies in wait…  Three massive tentacles emerge from the second-story windows of a building on the corner of Main & 3rd, suggesting the presence of a heinous creature.  According to those who dwell nearby, it is “a monster so hideous, but so reclusive, that you never can see its head. It has more than three tentacles….that’s just all that can fit through the three windows open upstairs.”   Furthermore, below those tentacles lies a shop that is equal parts disturbing and mesmerizing, defying every suburban stereotype. 

Ghoulish Mortals isn’t your typical small-town boutique- it’s a glorious shrine to the creepy, kooky, and monstrously macabre. Walking through its doors feels less like entering a store and more like stepping onto the set of a scary movie where the props department went overboard and decided to just sell off any leftovers in the aftermarket. This isn’t just simple retail; it’s a full-blown excursion or experience for anyone who loves a good scare- or just really embraces oddities. It caters to people who think “normal” is overrated and that the perfect home accessory is a rubber vampire bat.  From hand-painted monster figurines to jewelry that would make Morticia Adams swoon, the variety is now as vast as it is eerie. If you’ve ever wanted a candle shaped like a severed finger or a Lovecraftian alien plushie, you’re in luck. The shop feels like a gallery where every item has a story- and possibly a curse.

The store’s origin is just as intriguing as its decor. The owners, Dove Thistleton and Warwick Price, didn’t simply wake up one morning and decide to become purveyors of the spooky. The seeds of Ghoulish Mortals were planted years ago, back in sunny Southern California, where horror shops are as common as palm trees. The proprietors claim they are connoisseurs of the broader horror community, both locally and nationally, “We go to horror conventions and all the local haunted houses! We are best friends with the folks that run Evil Intentions (a haunted house) and Monster Purge (a paintball hunt) in nearby Maple Park.”  After moving to Illinois in 2015, the couple realized that the Midwest was severely lacking in horror-themed stores. So, they decided to take matters into their own claws.. er.. hands.

 After years of brainstorming, planning, and likely consulting some ancient grimoire, Ghoulish Mortals opened its doors in 2018. “We picked Saint Charles because it had such a cool-looking downtown area with the Baker, Arcada, City Hall, and the bridge going over the river….it was just so picturesque.  Coming from Los Angeles, it was just the perfect little town to finally experience the four seasons in!  I always loved all things spooky, but when we were doing our annual home Halloween decor each year, we always made everything ourselves and found out that people were interested in buying our creations. When we moved here, it was too cold to do outdoor home haunts, so we decided to channel our need to be spooky into opening a retail store oozing with ‘creeptastic’ creations!”  Their ribbon-cutting ceremony was anything but conventional- they dressed as zombies and gnawed through the ribbon with their teeth, naturally.

Inside, the shop is a labyrinth of themed sections, each more delightfully chilling than the last. One moment you’re in a child-friendly corner that pays homage to Hocus Pocus and Stranger Things, and the next, you’re navigating a swampy nightmare full of cannibalistic cabin decor. It’s no easy feat to curate this delightful horror show. The true lifeblood of Ghoulish Mortals is its connection to local artists. Dove handpicks the local artists, stating, “The artist or maker art has to fit into the store’s theming of course, not be super similar to others already featured, and offer a reasonable price. Most importantly, we must also absolutely love their art. We get submissions all the time, and because we have so little space left, we don’t take anything that we aren’t thrilled about displaying. Therefore, we are the ones that generally reach out to the artists.” The store now showcases the work of over 150 different creators, each contributing their own brand of spooky brilliance. It wasn’t always like this, however, as co-owner Dove confessed. Running such an establishment comes with challenges:  “Well, at the start of the business, we had convinced only six artists to consign with us. There was lots of open space around the store for that first year. Since we are almost seven years old now, there are pictures and videos of the store out there and online, so it’s a lot easier to invite artists to join us.” Every nook and cranny of the space tells a story, whether it’s a circus section dedicated to killer clowns or shelves lined with cursed-looking trinkets. Even the walls seem to whisper, “Stay awhile… maybe forever… mwoo-ha-ha!”

Of course, Ghoulish Mortals doesn’t stop at just selling stuff. They’ve carved out a niche as a hub for events that are as weird and wonderful as their inventory. Take the “Ghoul Pool” for example, a horror-themed twist on fantasy sports where participants predict the outcomes of scary movies- because why not turn guessing who’ll survive the killer clown attack into a competitive sport. The City’s annual Scarecrow Fest always brings in new patrons.  “We love when we do the Design a Monster contest each year for the Scarecrow Festival. Kids bring in their drawings and explain to us what their monsters are and what they do. The little girl that won the first year made a “Medusa clown that hides in the sewer and comes up to eat kids”. She was nine. Her drawing was so good we wanted it on a t-shirt. Also, when we built the life size version of the winning monster for our store’s Scarecrow, we ended up keeping the head.”  Then there are their movie nights, which turn the shop into a cozy yet creepy screening room for cult horror classics. Imagine watching Evil Dead surrounded by shelves of hand-crafted zombie art. “We are always switching things around and putting in new displays. Like everyone else in the world, we want Stranger Things to do its final season, and then we will pull that section and put in a fun horror anime section in its place.”

Ghoulish Mortals is not a costume shop.  Nor do they want to be mistaken for one.   Dove states, “People that aren’t into Halloween often erroneously think we must be a Halloween store like Spirit.  They walk by the store all the time, and we overhear them say: ‘How does this place stay in business year round?’ We find that when those people finally come in out of sheer curiosity or get dragged in by friends, they have an ‘aha!’ moment. We are a perfect mix of pop culture, art and spooky. We do not, nor ever will, sell costumes or masks.” However, the shop does host costume contests that attract some true ingenuity. Customers show up dressed as everything from rotting mummies to hyper-realistic movie villains, competing for prizes and, of course, bragging rights. Photo ops are also a big draw–the store’s most popular event is the “Peter Rottentail Easter Portraits,” for sure. They are hilarious. People bring their dogs and cats too. And if you’ve got an event of your own in mind- a spooky birthday bash, a murder mystery party, or even a wedding where “Till death do us part” takes on a more literal meaning- you can rent out the space. Yes, you can exchange vows in front of a backdrop of cobwebs, surrounded by skulls and skeletons. Who needs a boring ol’ banquet hall when you can say your “I dos” under the approving gaze of their life-size Demogorgon statue?

Not surprisingly, the store’s inventory flies off the shelves faster than a vampire at the approach of dawn. Limited-edition art prints and collectibles are big hits, as are handmade trinkets and oddities. A favorite among regulars is the jewelry, which lets you subtly (or not-so-subtly) broadcast your love of horror in your everyday look. And then there are the utterly bizarre novelties, like those aforementioned finger candles or eerie portraits that seem like they might actually follow you with their eyes. Whether you’re shopping for your goth friend or looking to add a touch of spooky chic to your own home, Ghoulish Mortals delivers in ways you didn’t even know you needed. 

In a region where similar stores are about as common as spotting Bigfoot, Ghoulish Mortals stands out as a one-of-a-kind destination. Sure, you could trek to California for a comparable experience, but why bother when you’ve got this delightful den of darkness right here in the Midwest?  And the fear-filled fun continues with plans for expansions or iterations of the retail shop.  Dove explains, “We’re opening our haunted mini-golf center, Ghoulish Golf, later this year in Elburn! You gotta have hopes and dreams!”  Or, more appropriately in this case, hopes and nightmares!  

Dove and Price have built a space where fans of horror, sci-fi, and all things strange can connect, shop, and celebrate all things darkly weird and wacky. They’ve created a store where Halloween isn’t just a date on the calendar, but a year-round state of mind. So, the next time you feel an inexplicable pull toward the eerie and unusual, follow it: Step inside the three-tentacled embrace of Ghoulish Mortals, and let the monsters take care of the rest.